John Moore was diagnosed with hairy-cell leukemia in 1976. Under directions from his doctor, Mr. Moore’s spleen was removed. Among other things, Mr. Moore continued to visit his doctor for seven years following his diagnosis. During these visits, the doctor took tissue samples of bone marrow, skin a and sperm, which Mr. Moore assumed were necessary procedures to prevent the reoccurrence of cancer. After discovering that he had become patent #4,438,032, John Moore learned that the …showed first 75 words of 1097 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1097 total…lines, and even human cell lines. Contrary to the claims of patent lawyers, patenting retards progress in biomedical research. It introduces secrecy when what we need is openness. It slows the publication and sharing of important results, because once a result is reported publicly, it cannot be patented. And so researchers drawn into the web of the patent process do not report their results, even informally, until they have successfully passed through the expensive application .